Speeding Accidents

Our Experienced Dallas-Fort Worth Auto Crash Lawyer Represents Victims of High-Speed Accidents

Excessive speed is a factor in more than 25 percent of all traffic fatalities, including 30 percent on interstate highways and 32 percent on the types of minor roads that are common in the suburbs and rural areas surrounding the Dallas-Fort Worth metro area. Drivers who speed put lives at risk and should be held accountable for the accidents they cause.

Berenson Injury Law has exclusively practiced in the field of auto accident claims for close to four decades. Attorney Bill Berenson is certified as a Personal Injury Lawyer by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization, an honor achieved by only about one percent of Texas lawyers through a rigorous vetting process. Bill has received numerous other honors, including the Martindale-Hubbell Client Distinction Award based upon these five criteria: communications, ability, responsiveness, quality of service and value for money.

We hold speeding drivers liable for your accident damages. You may be entitled to punitive damages in addition to compensatory damages if the driver was travelling at excessive speeds or engaged in other reckless behavior, such as texting or impairment when speeding.

High Speed Increases Chance of an Accident

Speeding increases the likelihood of crashing. First, a speeding driver covers more ground between recognizing a potential hazard and responding. Second, the automobile takes longer to slow down or stop upon spotting the danger ahead. Also, a speeding driver is more likely to lose control of the vehicle than a driver travelling at a slower speed.

In some cases, a driver who stays under the posted speed limit may still be driving too fast. Drivers are responsible for adjusting speed to accommodate reduced visibility and slippery roads as a result of rain, fog and ice or slowdowns caused by traffic congestion or construction.

High Speed Increases Severity of Injuries

High-speed wrecks result in more serious injuries and fatalities. This phenomenon is a matter of physics. You travel at the same speed as your vehicle. If the vehicle stops suddenly, you continue to travel at that speed until something stops your momentum, such as your steering wheel or windshield. Your vehicle is built to withstand a limited force of impact, but may not fully protect you at excessive speeds.

All types of accidents are worse at higher speeds, including:

• Single car crashes. A seat belt can save you from ejection, but your head and torso are violently thrown forward and backward, which may result in a herniated cervical disk or whiplash.
• No seat belt. If you are not wearing your seat belt, your entire body travels at high speed until you hit the dashboard or windshield or you are ejected from the vehicle.
• Head-on collisions. The velocity of both vehicles increases the force of the impact when they collide head on. For example, two cars both travelling at 45 mph collide head-on at double the force. A car travelling at a much slower speed than the other bears the brunt of the impact.
• Pedestrian and bicyclists accidents. A car that hits a pedestrian or bicyclist at slow speed may still cause serious harm, but at high speed, death or severe injury is inevitable.
• Drunk driving accidents. Drunk drivers are more likely to speed as alcohol slows reaction time and impedes coordination, which can increase the force of impact.

How Our Accident Attorney Proves Speeding

Proving the other driver’s excessive speed is an important element in your claim. We analyze several factors to determine speed. At the accident scene, we assess skid marks and crash debris pattern that offer evidence of speed. Also, vehicular damage is much worse at higher rates of speed. We, therefore, may consult with mechanical engineers who can testify a speed range that would have caused the type of damage to your and the other driver’s automobiles. In addition, we locate any eyewitness accounts and video footage that might have caught the vehicle’s movements before and during the wreck.

Learn More About How Proving that the Driver Was Speeding Could Affect Your Claim

Was the other driver speeding at the time of the crash? Our Dallas-Fort Worth accident attorney investigates whether speed was a factor and holds the other driver liable. Schedule your free consultation today by calling 817-885-8000 or by filling out our online appointment form. Berenson Injury Law handles your claim on contingency, which means that if you do not win your case, you do not have to pay any attorney’s fee or expenses, so there is no risk in calling.